This invention relates to oral implants and, more particularly, to oral implants for use where tooth sockets or prior implant grooves have become oversized through previous failures or poor groove making technique by the oral surgeon.
Oral implants are used to mount artifical teeth where there is sufficient natural tooth structure for a conventional fixed bridge. These implants may be of the endosteal type, which include the pin and spiral screw implants disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,222 which issued to the present inventor and his associates. These are inserted directly into the jawbone at the ridge crest. Other endosteal implants include the blade types described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,441, U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,825 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,888, all issued to the present inventor and his associates.
All of the endosteal implants include a blade or screw adapted to be seated in a tapped hole or groove, respectively, in the patient's jawbone. One or more posts extend from the blade or screw and are used to mount the artificial tooth or teeth. To locate the implant, an incision is made in the fibromucosal tissue at the ridge crest along the edentulous span involved. The tissue if then reflected to expose the jawbone. A groove is made in the jawbone if a blade is to be used or a hole is tapped and threaded in the bone if a screw type implant is used. The implant is then inserted in the jawbone opening and the tissue is sutured. After a period of time, the bone in the opening regrows and permanently fixes the implant in place.
On occasion, the implant fails because the blade or screw becomes loose before bone regeneration occurs. If a blade remains in place too long after it has become loose, it will enlarge the groove. A similar enlarged or oversized opening in the jawbone will be created when periodontally-involved teeth are over retained. When these teeth are finally removed, the sockets are extremely oversized.
Oversized openings in the jawbone prevent the immediate use of an implant. Typically a period of time is allowed to pass during which the bone regrows to fill the oversized opening and then a new and smaller opening for a new implant is created in the regenerated bone. However, this procedure necessarily leaves the patient without complete dentures for a considerable period of time.